At the end of the aeon of Pieces, the zeitgeist is a storm. Wisdom comes from within if we question authority, and our actions determine our identity. In like a lion, out like a lamb, the storm wind blows. Beware Caesar the ides of March are come.
"... shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth. "

The Corporation - The Pathological Pursuit of Profit and Power (Hardcover)by Joel Bakan (Author) A history of the most powerful institution of the 21st Century, the Dangerous, Amoral, Immortal, and Unaccountable, For-Profit Business Incorporation.

Saturday, November 22, 2008

President George W. Bush may have committed crimes involving the mistreatment of detainees, the extraordinary rendition of individuals to countries known to engage in torture, illegal surveillance of United States citizens, unlawful leaks of classified information, obstruction of justice, political interference with the conduct of the Justice Department, and other illegal acts

and that

Bush has been urged to grant preemptive pardons to senior administration officials who might face criminal prosecution for actions taken in the course of their official duties

Nadler's resolution urges Congress to investigate those crimes and any pardons relating to them, and urges the Attorney General (current or future) to appoint an Independent Counsel to prosecute those crimes.

These are major steps towards holding George Bush, Dick Cheney, and other senior officials accountable for their crimes and thereby upholding the rule of law, rather than allowing Presidents to become dictators.

Friday, November 21, 2008

Lest people believe that this is a "Leftist, Liberal, Lilly Livered Blog", that just reports on Right-wing Neo-Conservative Corruption, I want to let everyone know about the SNL Censorship.

Michelle M. reported on the SNL Bailout Skit that was pulled of the web, here.

In any case the real story is that SNL, the most popular satirists of our corrupt politics is involved in SELF-CENSORSHIP by imposing 'standards' to their illicit brand of humor. They say they will edit and republish the skit shortly. Apparently the problem was a bit of text saying that the Sandler couple should be "shot", and they will change that to "invited to prison".

She quotes Ed Lasky of The Thinker ( A Conservative Jewish Publication ) who describes:

"Herbert and Marion Sandler, a New York lawyer and Wall Street analyst respectively, bought a small California thrift in 1963 and built it into GDW — one of the largest thrifts in the nation. The company’s business was built on adjustable rate mortgages (ARMs. These were mortgages offered at low “teaser” rates that ratcheted upward as interest rates increased. They were often sold aggressively to unsophisticated home buyers who did not comprehend the vast financial risks they were taking, "

But then he claims:

They are not merely out to elect Democrats, but to also permanently realign U.S. politics and shift our society and culture in a far-left wing direction…

Does something seems incongruent about a pair of high power Capitalists Bankers, who use free-market economics to sucker ignorant new home buyers, being called "FAR-LEFT WING"?

Monday, November 17, 2008

There’s another piece of this puzzle that is also borderline illegal, which is that in addition to the $700 billion that we are discussing, the $700 billion bailout, there’s another $2 trillion that’s been handed out by the Federal Reserve in emergency loans to financial institutions, to banks, that actually we don’t really know who they’re handing the money out to, because, apparently, it’s a secret. They could be handing it out to a range of other corporations—I think they are—but they’re saying that they won’t disclose who has received these taxpayer loans, because it could cause a run on the banks, it could cause the market to lose confidence in the institutions that have taken these loans. Once again, that represents an additional $2 trillion. - Naomi Klein

Sunday, November 16, 2008

and see how GM abused the use of No-Bid Contracts to "LEASE" Suburbans to the US Military and other Offensive Forces at $250,000 per vehicle, and then wrote off any units that were waisted and destroyed. They abuse our military budget when their price for one inefficient SUV could have paid for several years of a soldiers expenses and pay raises. They abuse our national security when they bribe politicians to be part of the scheme, have they reached into WES CLARK's pocket, too? The US Car industry has become part of the Military Industrial Congressional Complex and created the problems we now face, they are a corrupting influence in collaboration with big oil companies and other war profiteers.

These companies like GM have grown fat and lazy, they have already failed. If they were producing cars that weigh half as much, get twice the gas milage, and were safer because of new technology, then you could argue they should survive, but instead they look for handouts from the tax payers, a corporate socialist solution to a capitalist problem. They have become the very thing they chose to create; "Planned Obsolescence".

This is not the time to prop up these failing dinosaurs and throw good money after bad. We should let the laws of the free market take their course. If you feel that American industrial power is necessary for military power, then use the Billion$ you would waste on bailing out fat GM salaries, and instead empower small business with incentive loans up to $100-million so that laid off industrial workers and entrepreneurs can buy-up the failing industrial plants and re-tool them to compete with the "BIG 3" Oligopoly. Once Yankee Ingenuity has the chance to compete again, we can create a new green economy, using high technology and efficiency. Using true free market systems, we can out maneuver other economies, but not if we bail out GM.

Friday, November 14, 2008

President George Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney stand accused of 39 grave and impeachable offenses, including war crimes, torture, warrantless wiretapping, and outing a covert CIA operative.

Most of these offenses are felonies for which Bush and Cheney can be criminally prosecuted after they leave office. But prosecutions will be impossible if Bush issues blanket pre-emptive pardons for Dick Cheney, Scooter Libby, other senior officials, and even himself.

Presidential pardon power is nearly unlimited under the Constitution. We support efforts in Congress to outlaw pre-emptive or self-pardons, but even if a bill passes Congress before Bush leave office, Bush will certainly veto it. So how can we stop Bush's pardons?

The Founding Fathers clearly anticipated a corrupt President might pardon his co-conspirators, and specified impeachment as the remedy.

George Mason, the father of the Bill of Rights, argued at the Constitutional Convention that the President might use his pardoning power to "pardon crimes which were advised by himself" or, before indictment or conviction, "to stop inquiry and prevent detection."

James Madison, the father of the U.S. Constitution, added that "if the President be connected, in any suspicious manner, with any person, and there be grounds to believe he will shelter [pardon] him, the House of Representatives can impeach him; they can remove him if found guilty."

As your constituent, I urge you to impeach George Bush and Dick Cheney before they issue pardons. But if that fails, I urge you to impeach George Bush and Dick Cheney afterwards for issuing pardons that constitute obstruction of justice and abuse of power.

A post-inaugural impeachment would prohibit those impeached from ever holding federal office, either elected or appointed. Arguably, impeachment would also nullify pre-impeachment pardons and permit prosecutions. Finally, impeachment would tell future Presidents they cannot abuse their pardon power to put themselves above the law.In 1776, Thomas Paine famously wrote, "in America, the law is King." Congress must not allow a President to commit crimes with impunity, or it makes the President a King - or worse, a Dictator.

On election day I saw people on you tube crying because of the election of the first "Black" president. They were cheering and singing and saying that the Dream of Martin Luther King Jr. had been achieved. While 55% of whites voted for the Republicans, even after the abject failures of the Bush years.

I spent the weeks leading up to the election in Miami, driving early voters to the polls. One place I volunteered at was Florida Memorial University, a traditionally black college. The students were all African-Americans, I saw no other racial demographics on the campus, but as first time voters they seemed earnest and excited. What disturbed me was not that they had a racially segregated campus, I've lived in the south and I recognize the necessity of having a safe learning environment for education to flourish. What worried me was that even in 2008, I seemed to be one of the only Caucasian adults that these teenagers had ever talked to as a peer. This is a terrible symptom of the racism inherent in the Southern United States.

One young woman asked me how much I was being paid to give them rides to the polls. With all the voting tricks that have been inflicted upon people in the South, it is understandable that she questioned my motives. These kids were sequestered on campus, and I think few if any of them could afford cars. After I explained that I was volunteering, and paying my own expenses, I was met with a blank stare. I actually had to explain to these university students that in my opinion if Obama fails to be elected that our nation is over. That for this reason I had strategically come to Florida to get out the vote.These kids stood in line for 3-4 hours to Vote Early, and make sure that they didn't get left out of the most important election of their lives. For me it was a learning experience, to see kids willing to give up their time to vote, to be part of this nation. It makes me wonder why so many Americans do not participate.

We may have a President who was born of an African and an American, but this makes him a half-breed at best. A bi-racial child for those who believe that the racial divisions in our American culture are real. I think, with this President we may begin to move into a new Post-Modern era, beyond the classifications of race, and perhaps beyond the other divisions that politicians naturally use as wedges to conquer us.

I'm looking for some hope that I'm not the only person who feels this way. The day after the election I got many phone calls from people I had worked with to Get out the Vote. One 60+ year old African-American Grandmother who I drove to the polls on election day called to thank me and share her joy about Obama. We had had a deep conversation the previous day, trying to figure out why so many people fail to vote, or vote with racist hate. To both of us it seemed so irrational and self defeating to see our own relatives squander their freedoms and neglect their potential to succumb to the ignorance and fear.

She said: "If two people from such opposite ends of the social spectrum as us can talk honestly about our problems, then perhaps we can have hope for our country."

Obama's election has given all of us, people from all over the world, the hope that our nation may still have the potential to change the injustice, free the slaves, and unite those divided. If our hope becomes reality, we may yet live up to our human potential and transcend our differences. We can still dream.

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

What should we do about computer voting? It is obvious we need the paper trail, and that each voter should be able to check their ballot when they vote by seeing it put in the machine and seeing that their vote was counted accurately. However, in most states if the margin is grater than 1.6% no recount is legally authorized. So, if someone was able to 'adjust' the tally, by somehow manipulating the digital vote, then there would be no recount of the paper ballots.

The VOTING SOLUTION: DIGITAL IMAGES ALLOW FOR TRANSPARENT ELECTIONS

We obviously need absolute transparency. In California, a Ray Lutz, an active political activist, has proposed that the Optical Scan Machines also be designed to take a digital image of every ballot and instantaneously upload that digital image to the internet, thus providing a perfectly transparent election. This solution, would allow every individual voter to check their own ballot was properly cast and counted, but would also allow anyone anywhere in the world to audit our elections, and we would know that our elections are fair and valid.

Out of 2.9 Million votes, Democrat, Al Franken is just 206 votes behind the Republican incumbent. As the state of Minnesota test the fairness of its election process, and prepares to decide if they are going to be part of the problem or part of the solution, every new count comes out in favor of the Democrat. Strange how the all the miscounted votes seem to be in favor of Republicans. Are all Republicans corrupt cheats?

Monday, November 10, 2008

According to Seymour Hersh there is a conga line of insiders waiting until January 20th to spill the beans on the gross criminality of the Bush/Cheney administration. Waiting . . . because if they did it now the two of them would be tarred and feathered on the way out the door.

But we the people do not have to wait. We can and must demand the immediate impeachment of both Bush and Cheney for what is already known. At the very least the defiance of congressional subpoenas at the behest of the White House is an open and shut case for accountability now.

Because as his final constitutional insult, his final spit in the face to the American people and all rule of law, it is transparently obvious that Bush is planning the most wholesale and wrongful pardon of the worst political criminals in American history, his whole criminal gang, INCLUDING himself.

And don't think that is not their precise plan. Please, what power has Bush NOT abused? What heinous, self-serving, shameless and dishonest act has he ever shied away from, when he was torturing and eavesdropping and lying us into wars of corporate aggression. Does anyone doubt that is what he is planning on doing?

And when you submit this action page, you will have one last chance to get one of the "Impeach Both!!!" caps, which after January 20th will no longer be available from us for love or for money.

Will Congress now act? That is not the yardstick of the worth of our activism. We speak out because we must speak out, whether we are heeded or not. Let history record that we spoke out until the last minute to the eternal shame of those who did not. Because when enough of us speak out at once, the worst thing that can possibly happen is that we are building the progressive base for the REAL change of the future.

So Bush most certainly is planning on pardoning himself. And all the right wing lock down ideologues in the corporate controlled media will call it "healing". Let's all make nice with war criminals? Shall we all make nice with the gang rape of our economy, our environment and our Constitution? We think not.

And one more thing. You know that come January 20th the right wing will start calling for the impeachment of our new president, over a endless litany of the most ridiculous of trivial trifles. In fact it has already started even though he has not even taken office. If they are so hot on impeaching someone, let them speak out now, when it truly is called for, or shut the hell up in 73 days.

Please take action NOW, so we can win all victories that are supposed to be ours, and forward this alert as widely as possible.

Saturday, November 8, 2008

"For me it is just an exciting moment to be alive when you see that kind of desperation. Because it is the last gasp of the Conservative era, where the Economics of Greed, the Culture of Indifference and the Politics of Fear have been brought together in such a way that it hides and conceals the plight of poor, working people. We are in a transitional moment the real question is: Can we generate a commitment to peace and justice in the face of greed, can we generate compassion in the face of indifference, and can we generate hope in the face of fear?" - Dr. Cornel West

"The racists were present throughout the campaign and in the voting booth. But they are no longer the majority, and we will see their flame of hate fizzle out in our lifetime. We've entered a new era, and if I could sum up our collective first thought of this new era, it is this: Anything Is Possible." - Michael Moore

Many of the Progressive Celebrities are out rightfully celebrating this victory, but I am a bit reserved. This war has just begun.

McCain/Palin had a lot against them:Our Constitutional Rights destroyed by the Unitary Executive Privilege of an arrogant elitist who trampled our Constitution.An corrupted election system controlled by a handful of Black Box Voting Machine Companies.The Worst Economy in 100 years. Giant Socialistic Taxpayer Bailouts of Gianormous Banks and Insurance Companies. Double Digit Inflation. Devalued Dollars. Global Recession. Impossible Debt and Trillion Dollar Deficits. Millions out of work. Millions of homes in foreclosure. Crazy Energy Prices.Two expensive Wars failing in defeat.Global Climate Change destroying the environment.Failing Healthcare Systems Bankrupting their patients.Failing Educational Systems ignoring the young.Failing Social Systems ignoring the poor.Millions in Prison, and millions more disenfranchised by unnecessary criminal records created through poverty and drug wars.A traitorous, corrupt, and ignorant Bush Administration, perhaps the worst president in history, and the END OF AMERICA as our Government was Privatized and our Constitution was sold to Corporations seeking no bid government contracts. Sara Palin. Revelations, the Rapture. and Armageddon. The lack of pigment at all their rallies.I could go on, and on, and on...

All Barack Obama had against him was an African Father.

Even with all that advantage, Barack Obama won only 53% of the popular vote. McCain got 47%. 55% of whites voted for McCain. Obama did not WIN this election, George W. Bush LOST IT!

For those who think that this election is over, the war has only begun.

Saturday, November 1, 2008

I had first planned to go to Pontiac, Michigan, the land of my birth. Because, I've heard that STUPID, CORRUPT, AND RACIST whites in the midwest and southern USA will not vote for a Black Man to be President. Then McCain quit on MI, and I got the offer to go to Miami, FL, someplace I've never been, and I figured I'd see if I could learn something about the people of these United States.

My trip to Florida was sponsored by a Democratic Party Member, who gave up 50,000 Airline miles to transport me, but I had to get to LAX, and that meant a bus ride, a trolly ride, a train ride, another bus ride and then a flight to San Francisco to connect to a flight to Miami. All this travel time, on public transit, across this country, gave me time to think about the issues we face. Strange how it all comes into focus. Unsustainable.

On October 14th, I had knee surgery, so I'm traveling as a little disabled, they put me on little electric cars designed for those who can not walk by themselves, and made me check my luggage, as I was difficult to carry. This made me think about how many people in our society are legitimately disabled, and need access to public services like transportation, and how the issue of healthcare effects our citizen's opportunities.Unsustainable.

After struggling with our public transit system, I finally got on the Surfliner, a train that runs up the coast all the way to Santa Barbara. It was a comfortable and relaxing trip, but it brought up many issues as it moved me. First the cost was $29 one way to Union Station, which didn't seem too expensive, considering how much trains cost, the railroad is heavily subsidized, but what shocked me was the fact that they actually had separate FIRST CLASS / BUSINESS CLASS and Coach Cars. Talk about a society that needs its social stratification, you gotta be treated special while riding the TRAIN! Unsustainable.

On the train I was joined by three 22 year old college students from various schools around San Diego, all on their way home to Los Angeles or beyond, to see their family for the weekend. I listened to them talk, they were strangers, yet shared so much in common, all minority, all female, all young, all single. There conversation ranged over the spectrum of their lives, from sex, and family, to ambitions and carriers, their work/school lives, their hopes for the future, their majors, they spoke freely about everything, and I was the proverbial fly on the wall. It makes me think about all the undereducated kids I meet each summer, most have graduated from high-school, even college, and are still uneducated, illiterate, and naive. Unsustainable. I was both shocked and scared to hear how naive they were about the world, yet how worldly they were about relationships. It seemed they were dialed-in on matters of personal/emotional life, yet unfortunately ignorant about history, politics, money, and their position in the world, but their conversation gave me clues about the reality of their demographics, a reality I was blissfully unaware of before. The danger is that this next generation of Americans, with their dual identity as the children of immigrants and former slaves will believe that their lives will continue to get better, because they have gone to college, yet will not realize the low quality of their education, and that their future has already been mortgaged by the mistakes of the current administration. Without realizing it, they have been set up to be wage slaves, to be cogs in the machine, paying taxes, creating wealth, without any real understanding that their potential has been limited, and they will spend their lives trying to survive at levels their parents took for granted. Unsustainable.

As you go north on the rail, you pass many costal lagoons and wildlife refuges. Each is unique, but they all have various appeal. There aren't many wild places left for the birds to land, and few places where children can still see unspoiled land, sans development. Unsustainable.

The Energy problem came to mind as I passed both the Encinitias Hydrocarbon and San Onofre Nuclear Power Plants. We need more power, and these technologies are limited in there usefulness, both have unnecessary risks. We need new technologies, new leadership, to give us a sustainable energy plan. This will take great minds, government regulation, and special motivation, if we are going to save the future for the kids. Unsustainable.

At the mouth of the brackish marsh where the train crosses next to the Encinitas Power station, I can see the lines of oyster farms in the water. The power-plant heats the sea water and creates a dead zone as the hot water flows into the sea. The warm water is great for winter surfing, but it kills the natural environment. Now we plan to use the same lagoon for water to go to a huge desalination plant, that will ad to the salinity, and use HUGE amounts of energy just to keep giving us water for our lawns. Unsustainable.

If you know about the various projects that have been done along the San Diego coast to study the water run-off and the flood plain, so as to justify the local development of our wetlands, then you understand the dilemma. Costal Land is extremely valuable, and any developer will tell you that the profit on such land can be almost unlimited. It's just too bad if your kids will never be able to afford to park near the beach. Unsustainable.

As I passed Tressels, north of Camp Penelton, it made me think no only of the War in Iraq, and all its problems; PTSD, Brain Injuries, Raped Women Soldiers, Mercenary Military Contractors, War Profiteers, Increased Global Instability, Millions of Dead Iraq Citizens, Decreased Homeland Security, Iran, Syria, ect., but it also reminded me of the public battle over the new Toll Road that they want to put through this area, and the courts that will decide if some corporation can ruin our natural environment to privatize our public transit? Unsustainable.

One of the best kept secrets in Surfing are the perfect waves of San Juan Capistrano. If there is a perfect place to be a kid, these affluent Orange County Beaches are the best. I can't imagine a world where people will be locked out of paradise because they can't afford to live there. Unsustainable.

Then the Surfliner cuts inland across Anaheim, and 26 lanes of Interstate Highway-5, the largest, busiest highway in the world. Unsustainable. Past Angles Stadium, which reminds me of Baseball and all the problems with Developers trying to con the public into building new stadiums for teams like "The Los Angeles Angles of Anaheim". Then we proceed past the broken down backyards of a few million people, who try to exist in this dry desert river-bed, all covered with razor wire and urban graffiti. Then past strip malls, and business parks, car yards, and industrial complexes, factories, and finally into Union Station in Down Town LA.

Union Station, an old school public space, with public art, a mecca for those who can not afford the plane or the car, real travelers. I see a man, a boy really, smoking. He sits on a green military ruck-sack, behind a pillar, sharing cigarettes with strangers. I worry again about PTSD, and all the problems of war. Who really fights the wars we choose? Unsustainable.

Why do people smoke? Why should we pay for their healthcare if they do?

I get on another bus, manned by working class stiffs. These are the bus drivers, ticket takers, baggage handlers. They are overweight, underpaid, depressed. I ride with students, and business people, most don't speak english. This is the real American people, every race, religion, and nationality. Unsustainable.

We move through heavy LA traffic. Dirty, no trees, no life, just mile after mile of concrete. Unsustainable.

The line at the ticket counter is full of American Senior Citizens. What will happen to them now that the Stock Market has crashed and their pensions are gone. What about my parents, and the demographic bubble of Baby Boomers that are all reaching retirement NOW! Unsustainable.

We come to Los Angeles International Airport, LAX, and we see its under construction again. Expanding to handle the crowds and air freight. Square Miles of flat, open concrete, with giant jet-planes crossing in every direction. Unsustainable.

At the airport I miss my plane, but my ticket allows me to fly standby on a latter flight to San Francisco. While I wait, I go eat at Bradley International Terminal, where I watch a hundred thousand people from around the world come and go, speaking a thousand languages. I sit next to an Irish couple, who just completed a two week tour of the South West United States. They are in total AWE of the USA. They are worried about the money, the banks are failing. I tell them I'm going to campaign in Florida. They remind me how what the USA does effects the rest of the world.

Bradley Terminal is named after Tom Bradley, LA's first Black Mayor, who was in charge while I was a kid in Riverside, CA. He ran for Governor of California once in the 1970's, I think. In the days that follow I will learn about the "BRADLEY EFFECT" that is the tendency for STUPID, CORRUPT, and RACIST whites to say they will vote for a Black Candidate, like Barack Obama, then go to the Polls and be unable to choose a person with pigment in their skin. I'm left with the question; "Do these people really deserve someone like Barack Obama?" We get what we deserve. Unsustainable.

The Betrayal of America: How the Supreme Court Undermined the Constitution and Chose Our President (Paperback)
by Vincent Bugliosi (Author), Molly Ivins (Foreword), Gerry Spence (Author)

Cruel and Unusual: Bush/Cheney's New World Order (Paperback)
by Mark Crispin Miller (Author)

The Limits of Power: The End of American Exceptionalism (Hardcover)
by Andrew Bacevich (Author)

The Dark Side - Jane Mayer

Find out about "Learned Helplessness"

Standard Operating Procedure

Right is Wrong - Ariana Huffington

The Post American World

The Revolution: A Manifesto - Ron Paul

What Happened - Scott McClellan

Fire-Breathing Liberal - Robert Wexler

Blackwater: Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army by Jeremy Scahill

Collateral Damage: America's War Against Iraqi Civilians by Chris Hedges and Laila al-Arian

“Boots on the Ground by Dusk: My Tribute to Pat Tillman” by Mary Tillman

Imperial Life inside the Emerald City - Rajiv Chandrasekaran

Zeitgeist: The Movie - 2007 by Peter Joseph

This blog was inspired in 2007 by Peter Joseph's movie Zeitgeist. Watch the first two below, then to prepare for the 2010 release of the third in the series: Zeitgeist: Moving Forward. This should be interesting.